NEWS
Premature retirement changes
Changes to the minimum pension age for premature retirement in Scotland have now come into force. As of last month, employers are only able to award
premature pension benefits to members of the Scottish Teachers’ Superannuation Scheme (STSS) from the age of 55. Teachers who joined the STSS on or after 30 June 2006
are already precluded from being awarded premature retirement before age 55 but the regulations have now been amended to cover all members regardless of when they joined the scheme. The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) has asked all employers to ensure that they do not offer early retirement terms to those teachers who are younger than 55. The SPPA will be checking all premature retirement applications to ensure that the STSS member meets the minimum pension age criteria and will return applications to the STSS member’s employer where eligibility conditions are not met.
The NASUWT is pressing for early retirement schemes to be made more accessible and attractive to older teachers in Scotland, both to support those teachers who wish to have more freedom over choosing when to end their careers and to free up teaching posts for the growing number of probationer teachers who are unable to secure a permanent teaching post. Latest figures show that just 20% of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) gained full-time, permanent teaching posts following the conclusion of their induction year in 2008/09, compared to nearly half in 2005/06. The NASUWT believes that this is a waste to the profession of the skills and talents of these new teachers and also a waste of the public money that has been used to train them. A motion calling for improved early retirement provision to aid the recruitment of probationer teachers was passed at the NASUWT’s Annual Conference in April. For more information, visit
www.nasuwt.org.uk/MotionDebates2010.
New law on rural school closures:
Rural schools should generally be safeguarded from closure, the Scottish Government has asserted, as a new law on school closures comes into force.
The legislation, which became law last month, makes a presumption against the closure of rural schools, meaning local authorities must show that they have considered all viable alternatives and assessed the potential impact on the community before proposing to close a school in a rural area. The new law also updates and strengthens the consultation process when any plans to close a school are being considered. Local authorities have a duty to hold a six-week consultation with the public during term time, hold a public meeting to explain the reasons for the planned closure and ask the education inspectorate to prepare a report examining the case for closure.
The law also makes clear that when any changes to school organisation are being considered, education must be the key priority. Guidance has been published to explain the changes to parents and set out the opportunities for parents and carers to have their say when any closures are mooted. There have been increasing numbers of local authorities in Scotland, and the UK as a whole, that have been seeking to close and merge schools in a bid to save money.
The NASUWT is concerned that such closures potentially damage educational standards, increase teacher workloads and, where teachers are made redundant, represent a loss of skills, talent and expertise to the profession. These problems can be particularly acute in rural areas where there
may be limited opportunities for teachers to be redeployed. Therefore, any commitment to safeguarding schools is welcome, but must also be backed up with appropriate funding for local authorities to put this into practice.
Tool to stay safe online:
An NASUWT member has helped develop a new way for schools to assess their online safety. Ron Richards has been working on a new diagnostic tool for schools to review their e-safety policies and practices. The online 360° safe Self Review Tool allows schools to assess their current provisions for Internet safety and security and suggests improvement actions they could consider.
It also provides links to resources and good practice guides and allows schools to compare their provisions with other schools. Ron has developed the tool through his work as E-Safety
Consultant for the South West Grid for Learning Trust, which provides broadband and learning services to schools in the South West of England. The tool is available to all schools, not just those in the South West region. The website also includes downloadable template policies on cyber safety and gives the opportunity for schools that meet the required benchmarks for e-safety to apply for a 360° safe eSafety Mark. The website can be found at
www.360safe.org.uk.
www.nasuwt.org.uk
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